FAMU launches coalition for National Minority Cancer Awareness Week

April 20-26 is National Minority Cancer Awareness Week and Florida A&M President James Ammons launched the week off by announcing the start of a Coalition on African American Men's Health.

Administrators say the mission of the coalition is to develop, promote and sustain independent men's health research and training at FAMU. But the reasons behind forming the new group is to correct statistics which show that black men are disproportionately affected by cancer.

The coalition has been initiated to increase awareness on the disproportionate burden of cancer among the minorities and inform the public on the universities' initiatives.

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TIMEOUT

If you are a regular reader of MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street, you may have noticed that no posts were made during the period of April 16 - April 22. The reason for the brief exodus was due to the death of my oldest brother, who died from CANCER on the evening of April 15, 2008. This is the first article that I read on my return from my trip to Montgomery, Alabama for his funeral.

Unfortunately, cancer was discovered in his body in late December 2007, and his life ended less than four (4) months later. Black men, like you and I have to understand that regular check ups with our doctors on any ailment and annual physicals are part of the screening process for early detection of cancer. It can strike at any time and at any age group; so you are never exempt from the disease, especially if you are a black male.

With more than 37,605 visitors coming from 107 countries and territories around the world to this Blog site, it is very important that our readers hear this message: Cancer is real and can strike at anytime, within any part of your body from the tip of your head to the bottom of your feet.

Florida A&M University and the Coalition on African American Men's Health are to be commended for starting such an important project.

Two of the keys to defeating cancer are to get educated and get your annual physical examinations for early detection. There is nothing we can do for my brother at this point, but his story may inspire you to start getting an annual check up for early screening and possible detection. After many tests, his cancer was finally exposed through an MRI examination, and by then, it had spread throughout his body touching every organ within, with the exception of his eyeballs.

As a committed organ donor, his finally wishes were unable to be fulfilled to improve the quality of life for others in the transplant of his organs in others, due to the contamination by cancer cells in his body. Even in death, cancer denied his final, planned request to help others live.

Cancer is real, and so is death.

Continue to enjoy MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street and our HBCUs sports programs, but please do your part to stay healthy and live a long life - get your annual check up strong, black men.

-beepbeep